With the advent of wireless communications has come a multitude of wireless devices fulfilling specific needs of wireless device users. The devices have given users increased mobility and a greater access to information, all in an effort to better and easily manage their daily lives. The devices, however, are typically limited to a specific function, requiring users to maintain multiple devices for the various aspects of their lives. Additionally, since the current technologies and protocols in the wireless communications network do not allow interchangeable devices, the same information is not accessible on all devices.
This problem, although applicable in any information network, is particularly apparent in wireless access to the Internet, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The Mobile Station (MS) 110–116 user subscribes to a Wireless Access Network Provider (WANP) 120–126 that provides users with a Radio Frequency (RF) 130–136 interface to the Wireless Communications Network (not shown) and the Internet 150. The RF interface comprises a RF carrier and a protocol. The RF carrier, which includes the messaging format for control and user data such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), among others, vary widely, and, as a result, a single MS typically supports only one of the possible RF interfaces. Furthermore, it is common for a WANP, such as AT&T, Sprint PCS, or AirTouch, to provide services for only a single RF carrier. As a result, MS users are typically restricted to not only a specific RF interface, but also to a particular WANP within any given area.
Moreover, the protocol and presentation formats vary between devices. In comparison with wired data networks, wireless networks must support a variety of MSs: voice-only cellular phones, mini-browser enabled cellular phones (commonly referred to as a WAP phone), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), one-way pagers, two-way pagers, and laptop computers. These devices, however, employ different communication protocols, such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and voice communication links. Additionally, the application typically employ different presentation formats, such as Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML), Wireless Markup Language (WML), and Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML). Because of the relationship between the MS and the RF interfaces and presentation formats, a user is limited to service providers that support a particular RF carrier, protocol, and presentation format. As a result, a user typically subscribes to multiple service providers, one for each MS owned.
Additionally, the MS and its capabilities vary. Unique characteristics of each MS, such as the input capabilities, display capabilities, amount of memory, and bandwidth, create a situation such that the preferred method of communication with one may be inappropriate for another. While some MSs have significant capabilities, such as a laptop computer, other MSs, such as PDAs, mini-browser enabled cellular phones, or voice-only phones, have significantly limited capabilities.
PDAs are becoming an increasingly popular way for MS users to remain connected. While a PDA has considerable capabilities, such as e-mail, contacts, and calendar functions, a PDA's capabilities are limited compared to a laptop computer. The display size is smaller, the processing capability is less, and, most importantly, the data entry is significantly limited. Data entry in particular is a limiting factor in the use of a PDA, as well as others, to send or retrieve information.
While a device such as a PDA is capable of entering the same data as a laptop or desktop computer, the ease of use and the amount of time required to enter the data significantly limits the functionality of the device. Data entry with a PDA is typically achieved through the use of a stylus and a touch sensitive screen. Generally, a miniature diagram of a keyboard is displayed on which a stylus is used to indicate the keys. The size of the displayed keyboard and the use of a single stylus significantly limit the ability of a user to enter large amounts of data on a PDA.
A mini-browser phone is more limiting. The display is large enough for only a small amount of data, and alphanumeric character entry is extremely difficult, typically requiring depressing a combination of keys or a sequence of keys to enter a single character. Other wireless devices, such as wireless phones and pagers, are typically capable of displaying only the most basic messages.
After the MS has access to a WANP, the MS must also subscribe to one or more wireless portals 140–146. The portal provides the MS with links to content and service sites, web server functionality, and network access to the Internet 150. It is common in the industry for the WANP to provide the dial-up access and the web server functionality. Unfortunately, each WANP and MS vendor typically supports only a single type of device and/or RF interface.
Therefore, the MS user typically maintains as many portals as devices. The various accounts, however, are separate and distinct services providing little or no integration between MSs. Information and services available on one MS are generally unavailable on other MSs, regardless of the information content or MS capabilities.
Once connected to a wireless portal, the MS has Internet access to information provided by Internet Content Providers (ICPs) 160, which typically allow customization of the displayed information to suit a user's specific needs. The information, however, is not specific to a particular device and as such may be displayed in a unusable format to the MS user.
As a result, the current architecture does not support operation of multiple MSs while maintaining a single means of access to a variety of information and services. The requirement for an MS user to subscribe to separate WANPs and ICPs for each MS device prevents a seamless integration between the devices. As a result, for the MS user to have access to all information, the MS user must simultaneously possess and operate the various devices, complicating instead of easing the MS user's life.
In addition to problems in providing a seamless integration of devices and services, the architecture described above results in specific problems: providing information that requires data entry, providing location-based services, and providing automatic notification of specified events, as well as others. Furthermore, since the device characteristics vary, it is difficult to determine how best to display the requested information.
One-Click Data Entry
Data entry in the wireless environment is particularly challenging because, as stated above, many of the wireless devices have limited, or an extremely difficult, means of entering alphanumeric data, in addition to being susceptible to security breaches as someone eavesdrops on the RF signal. Devices such as PDAs and wireless Internet browsers typically have only a few keys with which to enter data.
Often, the entering of a single character entails depressing a single key multiple times or depressing a combination of keys. The entering of character strings becomes increasingly difficult and time consuming as the length of the string increases.
Other devices, however, may have more capability to enter alphanumeric data but are not secure methods to enter secret data. Wireless devices communicate via RFs that are available to anyone with the appropriate equipment and technology to intercept and decode the signal. Therefore, if secret data, such as passwords and account numbers, are sent, the possibility that someone gains access to private information increases.
These limitations particularly restrict a wireless device's use of many applications. For instance, many Internet web sites provide subscription services that allow users to customize displayed information to suit his/her specific needs and desires. The ICPs generally protect the user's information by means of a unique user identifier and password, or other such authentication means. The user is then prompted for the authentication information before access is allowed. Requiring the user to enter their user id and password with a device with limited data entry capabilities are often prohibitive and discourage use.
ICPs and web browsers often implement an authentication means called a cookie. A cookie is an industry standard mechanism in which an ICP stores user information in a predetermined location on the user's device. The ICP automatically verifies the user information in the cookie when the user accesses the web site. If the user's authentication information is contained in the cookie, the user is automatically granted access to the web site, as customized by the user, without further interaction. If the user's authentication information is not contained in the cookie, the user must manually enter the authentication information manually.
While the cookie authentication mechanism is extremely useful in a desktop environment where the user's device is stationary and provides greater capabilities, the cookie is not useful for wireless devices. First, the use of cookies is not supported by the standard protocols, such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Second, even if cookies were supported by the protocols, the use of cookies stored on a wireless device poses a security risk in the interception of the RF transmission of the cookies and in the potential loss of the wireless device, thereby potentially allowing access to private account information to unauthorized individuals. Finally, MSs have limited capabilities and are frequently unable to perform the complicated authentication procedure. Even if it was capable, the authentication procedure would take valuable bandwidth that further exasperates the problems of wireless networks.
Location-Based Services
Another limitation of the use of MSs for information-based services is the inability to provide location-based information. Services such as restaurant guides, weather, and movie guides, among others, are popular services based on a particular location. In the landline environment the problem is easier to solve: the user's location may be known, such as Caller-ID or a known home dial-up connection; or the service provider may request the user to input the location information. Since Caller-ID or a known MS is meaningless as a means for determining a wireless user's location, and, as described above, the entry of data in the wireless environment is difficult or impossible, location-based services are problematic to the MS user.
The issues with using a location-based service from an MS can be grouped into two categories. First, the mobile user may not know his/her location in terms required by the ICP. For instance, even if the ICP required only a zip code, it is typical for a mobile user, even within the confines of a city, to move from one zip code to another or venture into an unfamiliar part of the city. Additionally, many MS users are travelers completely unfamiliar with their location. In such a situation, it is literally impossible to provide their location, even without any other limitation.
The second category is the inability of the MS user to easily enter the location information, provided it is known. As described above, the limitation of the MS user to enter data easily discourages the user from requesting location-based services.
Prior attempts to resolve these issues have been unsuccessful. In one such attempt, the ICP requests the MS location from the wireless network via the Signaling System 7 (SS7) network. The information, however, presents a security and privacy issue as the information passes through the Internet and is susceptible to interception. As a result, the ability of the wireless network to provide the location of a mobile user is limited and, possibly, prohibited.
Another attempt to gain access to the location information merges the ICP with the wireless provider. In this situation, the service provider has access to the mobile user's location without requesting the information from an outside source or transmitting the information over the Internet. This implementation, however, is extremely costly to create and provides poor scalability for the provider.
Smart Push
Yet another problem experienced by service providers is the inability to accurately deliver messages to users. Message delivery services typically consist of two types: push messages or pull messages. Push messages, such as e-mail, pages, scheduling events, stock quotes, weather, and sports information, among others, are generally delivered at a specified time or event. Delivery is made to a predetermined device and is made regardless of the user's status, device status, or message content. Therefore, if a message is sent to an MS that is not activated or is unavailable to the user, the information may not reach the MS user. Additionally, if the information was of such a type that the information cannot be displayed accurately on the device, the information may be meaningless to the mobile user. Message delivery, therefore, is not guaranteed to reach the mobile user in a useable format.
Pull messages, on the other hand, are the typical requests made by the user. The ICP returns information to the MS user on the device from which the request was submitted. While the MS is known and there is a higher likelihood the information will reach the user, the user must make an explicit request for each pull message.
Device Aware
Yet still another common problem of ICPs and MS users is that the wide diversity of MSs to suit a user's particular needs often result in communications in a manner not optimal for that particular device. Capabilities, such as the display size and quality, the amount of memory, and the input mechanisms, vary between the MSs' and, as a result, so do the preferred communication method.
Service providers and content providers generally provide information in a particular format, such as Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) or Wireless Markup Language (WML), without regard to the specific device on which the information is displayed. As a result, information for all wireless devices is provided in one particular format, regardless of the device characteristics. Information that is designed for display on a laptop or PDA, for instance, is unlikely to be displayed in an easily readable and accessible format on a web phone.
Additionally, the amount of memory affects the method of communication. If the MS's memory is sufficient, an application can utilize the additional memory and download additional information to the device in anticipation of a user's request while the user is reading the first page. For instance, when the user requests a lengthy report, succeeding pages can be downloaded and accessible to the user on demand while the user is reading a particular page.
Furthermore, as stated above, devices vary as to the ability of the user to enter data. Preferably, the information would be displayed in such a format as to accommodate the user's device, not only in terms of display but also in terms of requiring input. For instance, if a device has limited data entry capabilities, requested data is determined by a series of selections as opposed to a query that requires entering a lengthy string.
This creates problems not only between types of MSs, such as laptop computers and PDAs, but also between MS models, such as models of PDAs. For instance, the capability between the various PDA models can vary greatly in terms of memory, display controls, and size, among others.
Therefore, there is a need, either independently or in combination with other needs discussed herein, for a method and apparatus for providing information easily from an MS.